


Chocolate Silk

by L_Leonhardt



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coffee Shop Owner Levi Ackerman, Coffee Shops, College Student Eren Yeager, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Eren Yeager Is a Ray of Sunshine, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, Illnesses, M/M, Romance, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:40:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29428260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_Leonhardt/pseuds/L_Leonhardt
Summary: Levi loves Eren's long, chocolate hair. He loves brushing it in the morning, he loves running his fingers through it each night before falling asleep. He loves washing it when they bath together. He loves burying his nose in the crook of Eren's neck and smelling his shampoo.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman/Eren Yeager
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	Chocolate Silk

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Ereri Secret Valentine gift for @EwiZew, I hope you will like it ❤️

When the light of day wakes Levi up, Eren is lying on his side, with his back to him and with his hair spread on the white silk pillow. Levi snoops closer, wrapping his arms around the waist of his sleeping boyfriend while nuzzling his nose into his silky hair. 

His brown locks always smell so good, of citrus and spices.

Levi's warm breath on his neck wakes Eren up, who laughs softly before turning around to leave a kiss on the head of his lover.

"Good morning, babe." Even in the morning, Eren’s voice is always crystalline, so different from his own, that was always raspy and coarse.

“Morning dear…” He says grumpily, still drenched in drowsiness. After another kiss, Eren gets up from the bed while Levi remains, hugging the pillow still full of Eren’s scent. He observes Eren’s naked body as it slips out of the silk bed sheets, taking in that heavenly sight, until he walks into the bathroom and gets under the shower.

Eren had always been the early bird in the couple, Levi was the night owl who liked to stay in bed reading until late at night, glancing at his beloved sleeping beauty from time to time, with a book in his hand and caressing his silky hair with the other.

Many times had Levi fallen asleep just like that, a book in his one hand and Eren's hair in the other.

*

After his morning shower, Levi walks in the kitchen still in his bathrobe, and sees the breakfast on the table and Eren already dressed, munching on his bacon with his nose stuck in a textbook.

He had been living together with Eren for two years now. He had met the young architecture student in his coffee shop, where the brunet went to study in peace and quiet everyday after his lessons. The coffee shop was close to his university, and the ambience was calm enough for him to concentrate, without the unnerving silence of a library.

Levi had noticed him since the very first day. With his particular beauty, the young man was hard to go unnoticed. From time to time, Eren caught him staring at him, and that's what brought the brunet to make the first move.

Levi would've never dared. Eren was too young, too beautiful for him to believe he could ever be interested in someone like him, and even when Eren started flirting with him, he had his reservations.

But he was a stubborn one, his green eyed lover.

Eren never gave up, and Levi could never be grateful enough that he put up with his pining, because he could not imagine a life without his Eren.

When Levi was done with his breakfast, he saw Eren had barely touched his scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Eren, could you please put that book aside and concentrate on your breakfast?"

"I can't, not if I wanna pass this exam."

"You're not gonna pass shit if you faint on your way to Uni."

Eren sighed, "Fine." He said as he reluctantly put his book aside.

"C'mon, eat. I'll do your hair in the meantime."

"Thanks, babe."

Levi quickly went to fetch the hairbrush and hair tie from the bathroom. It was the moment of their morning routine Levi loved the most. Eren's hair was shiny, and soft, and he loved brushing it. He loved running his hair through it, he would've spent his whole life with his fingers interlaced in his hair.

Eren usually kept it in a messy high bun, so effortless yet so charming. But Levi loved it when he kept it down, he loved seeing it sit so softly on his shoulder, and the way Eren brushed it away from his face, the way they blew into the wind.

Levi was just done tying up his high bun when Eren was done with his breakfast.

“I am so nervous…” Eren confessed, when it was time to leave home.

“Don’t be. I’m sure you will make it.” He said softly, before leaving a tender kiss on his lips.

*

"Levi, I passed!" Eren walked into the coffee shop that afternoon with a toothy smile, his energy was so strong that it was like the sun had walked into the store.

Levi removed his apron before walking around the counter to go greet his lover. He had a proud smile as he threw his arms around Eren’s neck, “Congrats, dear. I knew you would make it.”

Eren laughed sheepishly, his heart a mixture of emotions, from the relief and excitement of having passed to the happiness he felt in seeing his beloved be proud of him.

“I’m taking you to the restaurant tonight to celebrate.” Levi declared. In other circumstances, nothing would’ve made Eren more glad, but the dark circles around his loved one’s eyes worried him. The coffee shop had been packed all day long lately, and Levi had overworked himself. 

“You don’t have too. We can just cuddle up on the sofa and order a pizza.”

“We’re not having a shitty pizza, you worked yourself to death and you deserve a nice dinner.”

“Are you sure? You seem tired today. More than usual…”

Levi clicked his tongue, giving him a soft smile, “I’ll be fine Eren, I just need a little rest perhaps. Let’s go home.” 

Levi hugged Eren’s arm and they both walked out of the shop, and the latter had a pleasantly surprised smile on his face. His lover didn’t usually leave the coffee shop to his employees alone, but since Eren came into his life, a lot of things started changing.

*

The restaurant Levi brings Eren is elegant and refined, like no place they had ever been before.

“The menu is a surprise, but I’m sure you will like it. In the meantime, we can celebrate with this,” Levi said, while pouring in both tear glasses some exquisite red wine.

"You really spared no expense. I wonder what you'll do once I graduate."

Levi smirked, "Oh, you'll see."

*

When Eren and Levi are back from the restaurant, they're laughing and both with their cheeks are reddened from the wine.

Once Levi closes the door, he takes Eren’s hands and puts them on his hips, "I think I have one more present for you."

"For me or for us?" Eren asks with a sultry smirk.

"For both I guess." Levi says with lust in his eyes.

Eren hoists Levi up, the shorter man wraps his legs around the brunet's hips while he carries him to their bedroom, their mouths not separating for a second.

Their lips finally part for breathing after Eren let's his and Levi's bodies fall on the soft mattress, and for a moment that seems eternal, they stare lovingly into each other's eyes, caressing and brushing each other's hair away from their faces.

Slowly, they start undressing each other tenderly, and when they're both in their underwear, Eren starts kissing Levi again, closing his eyes, tasting every inch of his mouth with fervor.

He tastes of wine and mint, if he concentrates enough he can taste the meat they had earlier and…

Blood.

Metallic, intense taste of blood. 

Eren retracts, and his eyes freeze in horror when he looks at the face of his beloved.

"Why did you stop…?" Levi asks, confused. His lips, teeth and chin are stained with blood.

"Levi, your nose is bleeding..."

"Ah…"

Levi reaches for one of the baby wipes he always keeps by his bedside table and wipes the blood away.

"Levi I think you need to see a doctor."

"Eren, it's just a nosebleed."

"It's the third time this week!"

Levi was one of those people who didn't really concern himself too much over his own health. Last time he went to a doctor, he was in high school and it had been his mother who had dragged him there, before she passed away.

On the contrary, when it was Eren to get sick, he always insisted on taking him to the doctor, even when he catched a simple cold.

Levi just wanted to go back to their kissing and then proceed with their lovemaking, but Eren was the same as him when it came to the well being of his loved ones, so Levi knew he wasn't going to let this. go so easily 

"Why don’t you go to my father?" Eren suggested. He knew Levi didn’t like going to doctors, but since Levi considered his father like part of his family, Eren thought that he would’ve been more comfortable with him.

"Your father is an oncologist, why would I go to an oncologist for a shitty nosebleed?"

"He's still a doctor. He will know what's going on."

"It's not anything serious, Eren dear. Stop worrying about it, okay?"

"Only if you promise you'll go to my father."

"I can promise I will think about it.”

It didn’t seem to be enough for Eren, but the brunet decided it would suffice for now.

“Can we pick up from where we left off now?"

Eren nodded with a small, half hearted smile, closed his eyes and kissed his mouth softly, but Levi could sense his uneasiness throughout the entire time of their lovemaking session. Eren wasn't as passionate as before, he was tender, protective. Levi didn’t like being treated like a porcelain doll. Not that he didn’t like Eren’s cuddles and sweetness, it was just the last thing he needed that night, so it wasn’t long before he took charge, getting on top of Eren and riding him like he never did before.

*

Levi didn’t know why he did it. He wasn’t the type of person who worried too much about his health, unless he absolutely couldn’t stand on two feet, he wouldn’t go to a doctor. Perhaps it was Eren apprehension that influenced him, or more likely the worry he constantly saw in his loved one’s eyes that pushed him to go to Doctor Jaeger that afternoon.

He just didn’t want to see that sadness in Eren’s eyes anymore. Levi just wanted to go home to his beloved, to be able to tell him it was just anemia, or a vitamin deficiency, nothing that couldn’t be cured with supplements or a few weeks on medication.

If only he could have been able to tell him that.

“You were lucky we discovered at an early stage. We can start with chemotherapy, then if it doesn’t work, we can try other treatments and in the meantime, look for a stem cell donor.”

“How… How do I tell Eren now…”

“I can talk to Eren if you…"

“No, no. I’m the one who needs to tell him.”

"I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but please don't wait too long. I don't like keeping secrets from my son."

Levi had lived his whole life in the fear of losing the people close to him. It never crossed his mind, the thought he might've been the one to inflict that kind of pain on someone.

He had lost so much. His mother, his former lover, his closest friends. Their losses caused Levi so much suffering, he couldn't do this to Eren, he couldn't.

*

When he steps inside the coffee shop, Eren is there, sitting at one of the tables with his books.

“Babe!” He greets him as soon as he sees him, with his wide smile and healthy blush on his cheeks. But the look of dread and emptiness on Levi's visage quickly made his smile vanish.

“Babe? Did something happen?”

“Eren… Let’s go home. I need to talk to you.”

“What’s wrong?” He asked, quickly gathering his textbooks and stuffing them in his bag.

“I just need to talk to you in private, let’s go.”

“Levi, what did my father tell you?” Eren asked with tears in his eyes. He knew. He already knew. He could tell from Levi’s voice, from the look in his pained blue eyes. Levi had never been good at lying, he couldn’t lie to Eren and reassure him that everything was alright, because it wasn’t.

They didn’t make it home, Eren kept asking, anxiousness taking hold of him, and Levi ended up telling him everything when they had just gotten into Levi’s parked car.

“I have leukemia.”

The look on Eren’s face was completely broken, and Levi felt his heart fall. Shock had left the young man completely petrified, his eyes vacant, his mouth curled in horror. That frozen shock only lasted a couple of instants, and before Levi knew it, Eren had pulled him into his strong arms, holding onto him for dear life. Levi felt Eren’s warm tears on his shoulder, and after that came the sobs that wrecked his entire body. Eren cradled the raven haired head, holding him as close as he could, as if by holding him close to his chest could protect him from everything bad in the world.

Levi’s tears started silently shedding, but they weren’t for himself. He wasn’t afraid of dying, he just hated himself for the pain he was causing Eren.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” 

Eren did not understand why he was apologizing, he just started drenching him in kisses. He kissed his hair, his forehead, his cheeks, his neck… Then he pressed their foreheads together, taking Levi’s face gently in his hands.

“We will get through this, we will get through this together. Dad is a good doctor, he’s the best oncologist in all of Eldia. I know he will cure you.”

Eren had so much hope, Levi couldn’t help being hopeful as well. Eren didn’t just give him hope, he was hope itself. He was Levi’s miracle. His one winged angel, with a white wing that was complementary to his black one, and the only way he could fly was by embracing him.

He was going to fly, he was going to fight against this evil because of Eren. Levi was sure that if it wasn’t for Eren, he would’ve given up on life.

“Eren… thank you.”

“I love you, Levi.”

“I love you too.”

*

That night, they were snuggled up in bed, both lying on their side facing each other, their foreheads almost touching. Levi had his fingers interlaced in Eren’s hair, while Eren was brushing loose strands of raven hairs away from Levi’s face and tucking them behind his ear. He wanted to see every inch of his beloved’s face, of those blue eyes that looked so sad now.

“Your hair is always so soft… It’s weird to think I’ll lose all of mine.”

“Babe, I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay, I’ll still have yours. And I’ll probably steal all of your beanies.”

Eren laughed heartily, “You always said they’re stupid looking.”

“Hey, I’m being self sacrificing here. Looking stupid so that you won’t.”

Eren started laughing fully, harder than before, and his laughter spread to Levi.

Yes, one simple look in those emerald eyes and Levi knew it. He could get through this.

*

Losing his hair had been hard on Levi. Way harder than he had anticipated. He never thought of himself as a handsome man, it didn’t matter all the praises he got from Eren, he could never see himself the way his beloved saw him. And now, with his hair, lashes and brows gone, he couldn’t help being repulsed by his own appearance.

Eren hated seeing him suffer so much, even if Levi never talked to him about it, he knew how much Levi hated seeing himself in the mirror, he realized it long before his man started covering all the mirrors present in their apartment, even the one in the bathroom.

To make him feel better, he started doing his makeup every day. Levi was against it at first, but he changed his mind the moment Eren handed him the hand mirror and he saw himself for the first time in weeks.

"I do look half decent now, I guess…"

“You’re beautiful, Levi. With or without makeup.”

Levi could hardly believe that. He knew Eren was just seeing him through the eyes of his heart, and he wished he could see himself through Eren's eyes.

Maybe one day he would have.

Every morning, Eren drew his eyebrows, making them perfectly symmetrical, used eyeliner to frame his beautiful blue, upturned eyes, concealed his dark circles with foundation, and applied a soft pink colored blush on his cheeks. Levi loved when he used the brush to put colors on his cheeks, it felt so relaxing.

*

One day, Levi is resting on the sofa with one of his books, when Eren comes in with a shopping bag and a blue beanie on his head. He must have bought it when he was out, because Eren never owned a blue beanie, and all the ones he did own were taken over by Levi like he had told him he would, just like the white one he was wearing now.

"Levi! I have a surprise for you." He exclaimed happily.

“Why did you buy a beanie?” Levi asked, raising one eyebrow. Eren chuckled, leaving his shopping bag on the living room’s table and fetching his hand mirror from one of the drawers.

“You’ll see. Come here, sit with me.” He said, as he pulled up two chairs.

When Levi sat beside him, Eren looked nervously expectant, with that sheepish smile plastered on his face, one Levi knew too well. It was the smile he had when he was up to something. Like he told him he had a surprise for him, but Levi wasn’t the type to like surprises usually, so it made him nervous.

“Eren, what’s going on? What’s in this bag?”

“I told you, it’s a surprise.”

Eren took the hand mirror and put it in Levi’s hands, “Hold this,” he said, instructing Levi to hold it up high enough so that he could see himself. His plain, dull, usual self, Levi thought. His face hidden behind makeup to hide his pain and his battle.

“Now close your eyes.” Eren told him and Levi couldn’t be more happy to comply. He heard Eren getting up from his chair and walking behind him. He took off Levi’s beanie, and then he heard him take something out of that mysterious shopping back.

He felt Eren place something on his head, something that smelled familiar. He felt something soft and ticklish cascading on his shoulders and the sides of his face, and his confusion grew with every passing second.

“You can open your eyes now.”

When Levi opened his eyes and saw his reflection, his jaw dropped. He had hair again. Long, shiny chocolate hair. A wig. Eren had bought him a wig, and from the look of it, it was made of real hair. Those things were expensive, where did he find the money for one? Did he ask his father?

Eren bent down, joined him in the mirror’s reflection, cheek to cheek to Levi’s pale face. Levi’s jaw hit the floor when his boyfriend took off his beanie.

“Eren… what.... what have you done…?”

His hair. His long, beautiful, chocolate hair of silk had disappeared. Except that they didn’t, they were just on a different head now.

“I want to give you every part of me, Levi. My heart, my soul, my body, everything. I’d give my life for yours.”

Levi didn't say anything. He just stood there, bright eyed and petrified.

"If you don't like it this long, we can always cut it."

"No, no. It's just perfect."

Levi’s eyes filled up with tears that started flowing shamelessly on his cheeks, and little did he care if his makeup started coming off. He turned around to hug his beloved, his entire body shaking.

He loved this young man. He loved this young man so much.

Eren started rubbing soothing circles on his back, planting kisses on his shaking shoulder.

*

Levi never wore his new hair in a bun. He liked having it loose, feeling it brush against his skin. It was like receiving caresses from Eren all day long, even when he wasn’t physically there with him.

One day after chemo, they were sitting on the meadow in the park, enjoying the light breeze of spring. Eren was sitting behind Levi, with his arms around him, and the smaller man was leaning against his boyfriend’s broad chest, with his head tucker right under his chin.

"Once this is all over, you and me will leave for a long trip." Levi says, spontaneously. Eren and he had never been on a vacation together before, Eren had been too busy with uni, but now that he was almost about to graduate, the timing felt right. He was also responding well to the chemo, so he hoped he could get well enough to leave on a trip with Eren once that nightmare was finally over. With Eren by his side, it was easy to dream and to have hope, even if dreaming felt dangerous to Levi, with Eren’s hand in his own, he had the strength to do it.

"Let's leave now."

Levi turns around to look in Eren’s determined eyes with his confused ones, "Now?"

“Just for the weekend. Let’s go somewhere sunny, somewhere where we can see the ocean.”

“Like in Emerald Bridge?”

Emerald Bridge was a small seaside eldian town, a very well known tourist destination, especially during spring and summer.

“Yeah, let’s go there over the weekend! We’ll be back just in time for the next chemo appointment.”

"What about uni?" 

"I don't mind graduating a few months later. I wanna leave with you."

Levi smiled, seeing the sun shine brightly through the clouds for the first time in months.

“Okay. Let’s leave, Eren.”


End file.
